DEADLY ATTACK: Flames shoot from the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where an independent panel has concluded that Hillary Rodham Clinton’s State Department was guilty of “systematic failures.” (Reuters)

DEADLY ATTACK: Flames shoot from the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where an independent panel has concluded that Hillary Rodham Clinton’s State Department was guilty of “systematic failures.” (
)

WASHINGTON — An independent probe of the deadly Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, rips the State Department for “grossly inadequate” security that left the building vulnerable.

The Accountability Review Board also rejected the initial claims put forth by the Obama administration that the attack — which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans — erupted spontaneously during a protest over a US-made anti-Islamic video.

The board, led by retired career Ambassador Thomas Pickering and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Mike Mullen, found that al Qaeda-linked terrorists were entirely responsible.

The report said that there was seemingly no cooperation among State’s bureaus and that senior officials failed to be pro-active about the dissolving state of security in Libya.

“Systematic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels within two bureaus of the State Department resulted in a Special Mission security posture that was inadequate for Benghazi and grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place,” the panel said.

But the board did not blame any individual US official or recommend any disciplinary action.

The report makes 29 recommendations to improve security.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she accepted them all, and officials immediately began implementing them.

A classified report of the board’s findings was sent to Congress yesterday. An unclassified version is expected to be released today.

The report will be a key issue when two State Department deputy secretaries testify tomorrow before House and Senate panels investigating the attack.

Clinton was scheduled to appear at the hearing, but canceled after she fainted and sustained a concussion last week.

The attack became an issue during the presidential campaign after the Obama administration initially insisted it was connected to a protest in Cairo earlier that day over the cheesy anti-Islamic video.

UN Ambassador Susan Rice went on TV days after the attack and repeated the line, prompting Republicans to hammer her for the false assertion.

The ensuing political scandal forced Rice to withdraw her name from consideration to replace Clinton at State.